Staff Guild
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Birth and Growth
The Staff Guild, which was formed in 1921 with only a handful of teachers, has now topped the 120 mark, with the Principal as its Patron then and now. Staff Guild numbering 27 inclusive of the present Principal. It is due to their dedication that this College stands in high esteem today.
We are indeed indebted to Rev. Fr. Felice Zoppi, who was the founder of St. Anthony's College. The first Patron of the Staff Guild was Rev. Fr. D. Lawrence Hyde, who served as Principal for 22 years, from 1921 to 1943. He was followed by Rev. Fr. D. Angelo Rosati, who was at the helm for the next 13 years, from 1944 to 1957.
It was during Rev. Fr. Rosati's era that St. Anthony's College reached the pinnacle of its glory, excelling in both academic and sports activities. However, the real icing on the cake was the glorious victory over our big match rivals Trinity College, in 1954, our Centenary Year, coached by Mr. C. E. Maurice Perera (member of staff) and captained by mercurial A. C. M. Lafir. In fact, the opening partnership of 266 runs in this 1954 match between A. C. M. Lafir and Ronnie Stephen, remains unbroken todate. The Doranegama brothers, Saliya and Ranjith, S. W. Seneviratne, Wijepala Premaratne and T. M. Deen were some of the renowned cricketers of this era. Wijepala Premaratne had the proud distinction of being selected as the first School Boy Cricketer. T M. Deen also excelled in Soccer whilst L. B. Tissa shone in athletics. Yet another landmark of the Rev. Fr. Rosati era was the construction of the College Centenary Hall, which stands second to none, even today.
An Old Boy, Rev. Fr. D. L. Amarasinghe was the Principal/Patron of the Staff Guild from 1977 to 1979; and he was succeeded by Rev. Fr. Stephen Abraham, who was at the helm from 1979 to 1994. Cricketers Muttiah Muralitharan, Ruwan Kalpage, Piyal Wijetunge, ruggerites Priyantha Ekanayake, Leroy Fonseka, were products of this era.
I wish to pen a few words covering the some of our Head Masters of the Primary section who contributed their mite to St. Anthony's. One cannot forget Mr. J. R. Rogers who served this institution for 40 long years (1909 to 1949). Mr. P. B. A. Weerakoon, Rev. Fr. D. L. Amarasinghe, Mr. S. B. Weerasekera, Mr. M. D. H. Dias, Mrs. B. L. Fernando, Mr. M. S. Mendis, Rev. Bro. D. C. Macky, Rev. Fr. Leo Nanayakkara and Rev. Fr. Thomas Silva, were some of the other Head Masters of the Primary Department. Special mention must be made of Rev. Fr. Leo Nanayakkara, who was consecrated as Bishop for the Uva Region.
Appearing below are the names of some teachers
who have served St. Anthony's faithfully for
considerably long periods.
Mr. J. E. Rogers - 40 years
Mr. George Macky - 37 years
Mr. P. B. Galahitiyawa - 37 years
Rev. Fr. D. C. Macky - 32 years
Mr. George Denlow - 31 years
Mrs. P. Amarasinghe - 28 years
Mr. Cyril Brown - 28 years
Mr. T. Kumaravel - 27 years
Listed below are the other members of staff who have served for over 25 years at St. Anthony's.
Mr. P. B. A. Weerakoon
Mrs. P. B. A. Weerakoon
Mr. V. A. Rajendran
Mrs. C. Monarawala
Major A. Weerasinghe
Mr. Dudley Joseph
Mr. G. R. W. Barnabas
Mrs. G. R. W. Barnabas
Mr. E. Kasthuriarachchi
Mr. Hapugoda
Mr. P. Q. Stephen
Mr. S. A. Constantine
Mr. M. S. Mendis
Mr. L. Nadarajah
Mr. B. L. Fernando
Mrs. B. L. Fernando
Mr. M. L. Pararajasingham
Mr. M. David
Mr. C. Samarawickrama
Mrs. Kumari Attanayake
Rev. J. Isaac
Mr. S. B. Senerath
Mr. Samson Premaratne
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all these teachers who served our Alma Mater with a deep sense of dedication and loyalty for the greater part of their lives. They helped in no small measure to keep the Antonian Flag flying high during its 150 years of existence.
The Staff Guild has a total membership of 120, of which 78 belong to the Collegiate section, whilst the balance 42 belong to the Primary section. We have 92 Teachers covering the Sinhala stream whilst 28 cover the Tamil stream. We have 30 teachers in charge of the A/L section and 27 of them are graduates. Of these 30 A/L teachers, 8 handle the Arts classes, 14 handle the Science classes and the other 8, the Commerce classes. The Staff Guild has a total of 41 graduates of whom 13 are Science graduates, 18 Arts graduates, 6 Commerce graduates, 2 M.A. graduates and 1 with an honours degree. One teacher has a degree in Dancing whilst 2 others have Grade I Principal certificates.
The teachers assist the students in a variety of extra curricular activities apart from education. There is a staff member in charge of every extra curricular activity of the College, including Sports and other associations. The effective functioning of the College depends mainly on the discipline maintained here. Under the able guidance of our Principal, we have a board of discipline.
This Board looks into all matters of discipline and takes necessary action to put the students on the right track. There is a master in charge of every sports activity, to look into matters pertaining to the subject. He has to see to the practices on all days except on Sundays, for which they are not paid an additional salary. The Sports Council consists of 20 members.
These staff members meet every month to discuss matters pertaining to various sports activities. The Guild has formed a committee to look into the welfare services of its members. These members are elected on an annual basis.